How (and Why) to Determine Cultural Fit

According to recent polls, only around 30% of workers are actually engaged on the job. The rest are either not engaged or (yikes!) actively disengaged. (Check out this employee engagement infographic.) Why is this? Your technical skills certainly make you marketable, but if you don’t enjoy the culture of a company, you too may find yourself looking elsewhere.

For this reason, employers are looking harder at candidates to gain not only an understanding of their skills, but also of their personalities and goals.

You should be thinking of these things, too. Do your research before the interview, and you’ll be much happier on the job. Trust us; it really makes a difference.

For example.

What are the current employees like? Search on LinkedIn for a company, and browse its employees to get an idea of their career backgrounds. Use social networks like StackOverFlow, GitHub, and other platforms to connect with employees and listen to them talk about their jobs. Not only are these are the people you’ll be working with – they also speak volumes about the company you’ll be working for.

Can you grow? How and where do you want to grow? Do you want to pick up certain new skills on the job? Which ones? Does this company have the budget and training in place to help you achieve these goals on the job?

Do your business values align? Take a look at the company’s business model and recent earnings reports to see how its values align with yours – and what tomorrow might look like.

Take a little time to find out the answers to these questions before your interview. You’ll be more knowledgeable during the interview, more likely to impress, and more prepared to dig deeper with the questions you’ll ask the hiring manager.